A conventional microcolumn can be thought of as a microscopic electron column with high efficiency by miniaturizing an electron column using the principle of controlling an electron beam in an apparatus such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a scanning electron microscope, electron beam lithography equipment, etc. While only a single microcolumn has been developed conventionally, the need for a multi-microcolumn and the possibility of fabricating a single microcolumn combination type multi-microcolumn and a wafer type multi-microcolumn are apparent.
In a microcolumn, generally, an electron beam is generated by an electron emitter, transmitted through various lenses, and deflected by a deflector. In an existing single microcolumn, the electron beam is controlled by applying a separate voltage in each lens system or deflector. An example of the structure of a single microcolumn is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2003-66003 and shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, a single microcolumn 10 is essentially composed of an electron emitter (not shown), a source lens 13, a deflector 15 and a focus lens 16. Further, the single microcolumn 10 includes an electron emitter holder 11 for supporting the electron emitter, a holder base 12 for receiving the source lens 13, a column base 14 for receiving the deflector 15, and a lens plate 17 for receiving the focus lens 16.
Control of a single electron beam in the single microcolumn has been studied extensively. However, in the case of a multi-microcolumn, problems of how to integrate a plurality of single microcolumns and how to control the electron beams remain to be solved. In other words, a problem of how to control a plurality of single microcolumns still remains to be solved.